Alignment
by Ariel Ceylan
Summary: Story of Carolina-Maria as she learns to deal with her thoughts on mutants while she realizes she is one. Might be BeastOC, but I'm not sure yet.
1. Chapter 1

Alignment

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Chapter One

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Disclaimer: I only own my OC's here and in Wyrmling.

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Carolina-Maria Francisco brushed her straight black hair back behind her shoulders. English class was just no fun when everyone sat there with nothing to say. Didn't they read? Don't they understand how crazy _Romeo and Juliette_ is? It's not the greatest love story ever, it's the story of two young people who killed themselves days after meeting. They'll be together forever? They're crazy!

Carolina tapped the tip of her pencil on her desk. Her eyes glanced up towards the clock. She'd be out of class in three, two…one. Carolina gathered her books together and left the classroom.

"Miss Francisco!"

Carolina paused. She looked around to see who addressed her and saw her teacher, , waving at her. "Yes, Mr. Greenling?"

"Come for just a moment. I need to discuss something with you."

Carolina hesitated. It was lunch time. That was the only time she could spend with her friends Melissa and Ashley. Their schedules did not coincide at all. "Sure."

Carolina followed Mr. Greenling back to the classroom. Everyone else cleared the room. "Miss Francisco, your analysis on the romance between _Romeo and Juliette_ is amazing! I know that you're about to graduate, but are you thinking of going to college? You have to study English. You're gifted."

Carolina frowned, "I never thought of going to college, . I guess…can I get a good job studying English?"

Mr. Greenling nodded, "Sure! You could be a teacher or an editor or a journalist or anything else you want to study."

"I guess. Do you really think I'd be good?"

Mr. Greenling smiled, "Absolutely."

Carolina shrugged, "Then I'll give it a shot, I guess."

"Great! Look up some colleges and we can go over them tomorrow. I want to make sure you go to the best college for you."

Carolina's lips stretched. Mr. Greenling was always a good teacher to her. He wasn't fake like the other teachers. He genuinely wanted to make a difference. He actually cared. "Okay. Thanks. If you don't mind, could you please excuse me. It's lunch time. It's the only time I get to see my friends."

"Of course."

Carolina nodded and walked out of the classroom. The walls of the hallway had layers of paint peeling off them. The lockers were banged up and scuffed up. No one could actually use them. Some lighting fixtures and pipes were exposed but somehow, there were some teachers who were actually amazing. And others were just full of crap. Carolina's classmates were full of crap…that they really believed to be honest truth and goodness. That's why she never spent much time with her peers. She couldn't stand them.

The high school student made her way to the lunchroom and surveyed the place. Melissa and Ashley were sitting in a corner with their heads together.

_Uh oh, I wonder what gossip they have today._

Carolina sat with her friends and Ashley exploded.

"Did you hear about Senator Kelly's decision to run for office?" Ashley's green eyes popped out of her fair skin.

Carolina shook her head.

"Yeah, thank God. Senator Kelly's the only one with a clue. He knows that the mutant thing will only grow unless it's taken care of." Melissa nodded.

Carolina drew her lips into a line, "What do you mean?"

"I mean that there are only a few mutants now, but soon there will be hundreds, thousands, and maybe even millions if they continue to grow without any check."

Carolina smiled hesitantly, "I thought the mutation was something you're born with."

Ashley sighed, "Come on, Carolina. I know as well as you do that sooner or later, the mutants will find a way to make everybody mutants. A few of them are bad enough. You don't know who they are. You don't know what they can do. You don't know what could happen. You're not safe. You're not secure. You'll always be not knowing what's going on because you could be in a mutant fantasy thing. If everyone was a mutant…then forget it. We'd be in a nightmare!"

Carolina chuckled, "Were we ever actually safe to begin with?"

"You were always a mutant-lover," Melissa rolled her eyes. "Seriously, people are safer because there are only a limited number of things a human can do. A human has to rely on weapons and has to obey gravity. So it's a lot easier to be safer. Now if someone could disappear or if someone could fly, well, then just forget it. Don't even bother trying to be safe at all."

Carolina sighed. She said nothing for the rest of the meal. Her friends went on a tirade about how mutants were terrible and created all kinds of danger. Their hysteria built upon each other to the point where they stopped looking human.

Carolina-Maria Francisco spent the rest of the school day in her thoughts, not really paying attention to anyone or anything. She just wanted the day to end. She needed to talk to Lynn.

Lynn was the picture of the edgy, cool artsy type of chick. She wore wigs to school, had painted on cat-eyes, and wore bold red lipstick. She always wore a black turtleneck, jeans, and stiletto heels. Carolina felt unsophisticated next to her friend in her green tee shirt, blue jeans, and pink sneakers. Where Carolina's body was straight and slim, Lynn's body was curvaceous. Lynn was perfect.

"Hey, Lynn," smiled Carolina.

"Hey 'Smiley'. "

Carolina frowned, "Smiley?"

"Yup! I've decided to give you a nick-name. Smiley, because you smile so much…when you're happy, scared, or just feeling awkward, you're always smiling."

Carolina smiled, "Oh."

Lynn laughed, "See! You're doing it right now! Now, give me one."

Carolina shrugged, her smile still on her face. "Artsy."

Lynn rolled her eyes, "What are we, _Snow White and the Seven Dwarves_?"

"Hey, you're the one who called me Smiley."

Lynn paused, "You're totally right."

They started walking to the bus stop.

Carolina started the conversation again, "So did you hear the news?"

Lynn's eyebrows met and formed a line. "What news?"

"Senator Kelly is going for President of the country."

Lynn let out a semi-sarcastic and semi-shocked, "Ha!" She blinked, "Really? If he becomes President, then it'll be terrible. Mutants can't help the way they're born."

Carolina nodded, her lips were parted slightly, "I miss Jenn."

"I miss Jenn too."

"I wish she stayed in touch."

"I wish I knew if she's okay. I hope she didn't get picked up by the agency."

Carolina laughed quickly, "Could you imagine if she met Senator Kelly. What could she possibly say to him? 'Sorry, Senator, I just woke up and my tv started acting up. I wish I could help you catch other mutants, but I wouldn't even know how to help!' Could you imagine it?"

Lynn laughed, "I could! That sounds like her, brash as ever. That's what I'll call her, Brash."

Carolina sighed, "Now if only we could get her to come home."

"Yeah."

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Ariel Ceylan: Hey guys! Sorry I haven't updated anything in like forever! For those of you who are new to me as a writer, welcome! It's a pleasure to greet you. I start slow, but things build up, I promise. For those of you who've read my work before, welcome back! I'm excited I have a new story for you. My writing has improved since Wyrmling, so I think you'll be in for a good ride. A few huge things happened this year. I wrote my honors thesis. I was inducted into Phi Sigma Tau, Philosophy Honors, Inc. Oh, I'm going on a study abroad in a few weeks. And I'm heading into senior year of college! WAAH! I'm super pumped for this! I'll update as often as I can, as quickly as I can. As usual, I will have a Q/A on the story via youtube in the middle of the story. So get your pens and put on your thinking caps! (I've always wanted to say that!) And get ready for a journey. xoxo Ariel Ceylan


	2. Chapter 2

Alignment

Chapter 2

By: Ariel Ceylan

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Disclaimer: I do not own the X-Men…If I did…then diabolical things would happen (not that they already don't)…

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Carolina sat at the dinner table at home. Her parents were discussing the daily news. For some reason, she could not escape people talking about mutants.

"Senator Kelly is running for President! That's great! We need more security here," Carolina's father cut his salmon vigorously.

"Don't you remember your daughter's friend, Jennifer?" Mrs. Francisco was a natural diplomat.

"Of course! She destroyed my VCR! How will I ever get it to bend out of the shape of her hand!"

Carolina looked down at her plate of food. Her stomach twisted. Her chest clenched. She was no longer hungry.

"Other than that, wasn't she a nice girl?"

Mr. Francisco pointed his fork at his wife, "She always was trouble! She had six ear piercings! Six! She'd bad news. She was going to be picked up by someone sooner or later. It just was a question of who would pick her up. But now we know it's the mutant agency that's picked her up!"

"Can I be excused?" Carolina's voice was barely above a whisper.

"Of course, dear."

Carolina got up and left her plate on the table. She walked to her room. In their two-bedroom apartment, Carolina could hear everything her parents were saying.

"Now look at what you did."

"What? Is she really that surprised that that mutant got picked up? Carolina's better off!"

Mrs. Francisco sighed, "What about our daughter's happiness? I almost never hear her speak. When Jennifer came, she changed that. Our little girl was finally able to say what she wanted to say and wasn't afraid to say it. Now Jenn's gone and Carolina's spirit is gone with her."

"See! The mutant made my daughter stop speaking to me! She's a terrible influence on my daughter! My child is no street urchin!"

"So our daughter is banned from even going out at night? That's crazy."

"These are crazy times. I need to protect what's mine."

Carolina flung herself on her bed. She did not want to listen to anything anymore so she found her cd player and jammed her headphones over her ears. She did not listen to the music. The pain in her stomach was not going away. Her under arms and legs tingled. _It's probably just hair growing in from shaving this morning…_ Those places started to itch. She tried to ignore it for a few minutes, but as time progressed, the more she ignored the itch, the fiercer it became. Carolina caved. She started scratching her under arms, but then came the pain from her legs. She switched to that. Her fingernails were short so she had to dig at the puckering skin of her legs. But then her underarms started itching. So she had to switch to that. Carolina switched between the two for hours until she passed out from exhaustion.

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Ariel Ceylan: Here's the next installment. It's brief, but it's something. I'll update soon. I have two writing projects I need to finish before I really start beasting out the chapters for this fanfiction. I also am pulling together a book series based on the character of the Wyrmling (my other fanfic). I need money for college! I'll keep you posted. Ariel Ceylan


	3. Chapter 3

Alignment

Chapter Three

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Disclaimer: All I own are my OC's in this fanfiction and in my other one.

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Carolina woke to the sound of her alarm clock. It was six in the morning, time to get ready for school. She sat up and threw her covers off her body. She ran to her dresser and pulled out a pair of green jeans. She threw it over her shoulder and looked for a tee shirt that matched it. Nothing quite fit right, so she pulled out a silver tee. Carolina was always a fan of knee-high socks and matching underwear, so she picked out a green set.

Carolina made her way to the bathroom and undressed. She paused, something caught her eye in the mirror. Her legs were red. Her arms were also pink, but they were not as noticeable as her legs.

_Why are my legs red?...Oh yeah, I scratched them last night. I didn't think that it would be this bad though. Maybe it just needs a day._

Carolina walked to the full-length mirror behind the door and closely examined her form. Her legs looked like they got...harrier. Carolina smiled to herself.

_Maybe it's just new hair coming in. All I gotta do is shave it off._

The girl turned to the shower and turned on the water. She let it run to her favorite temperature, cool. She stepped in. She let the water run on her body. She smiled once more. The water was warm enough that it didn't shock her and it was cool enough that it helped her wake up. It was refreshing. Carolina lathered up and rinsed off.

_Now to shave._

She reached for her razor and started working. She pulled one stroke up her calf. Those hairs stood on end. Carolina's eyebrows met.

_What? This is a brand new razor!_

She glanced at the blades. It was filled with hair. She turned back to her calf. It looked like nothing happened. Carolina's jaw dropped.

_Nothing happened? That's crazy! I'd better shave what I can off anyway. I have to catch a bus._

Carolina tapped the blades on the shelf in her shower. She proceeded to shave what hair she could get off her legs. When she finished making one pass around both her legs, Carolina rinsed off and got out of the shower. She turned her head to the mirror. It was a little fogged up from the steam. Carolina shrugged and started rubbing lotion on her legs. When she finished, she looked at the mirror once more. It cleared up. She made her way to the mirror. She saw improvement on the forest of her legs, but it was not enough to even consider it close to looking handled.

_Geeze. That's nuts. When I get home, I have to shave, but for now, I have to leave that on the back-burner._

Carolina changed and exited the bathroom. She made her way back to her room and threw her pajamas into the hamper. She ran downstairs to have breakfast, cheerios in cold milk. Once she finished her meal, she ran back to the bathroom, brushed her teeth, grabbed her backpack, and walked to the bus stop.

The morning had the sun peeking through the edges of the earth. The sky was blue and purple with hints of orange. It was beautiful.

_The colors are so pretty._

Carolina looked forward; she heard the barreling of the school bus down the other street. She pulled her backpack over her shoulder and waited.

_Man! I forgot to do my homework! I gotta handle that when I'm on the bus._

The bus arrived and Caroline stepped into the school transportation. She sat towards the back of the bus. It was always awkward to have people look at you when they step on the bus, but at the same time, Carolina did not like sitting all the way towards the back of the bus because it's so bouncy, she can't focus on anything except falling out of her seat, and so she chooses to sit towards the middle.

She pulled out her backpack and started reading. _I hope I don't have any quizzes today..._

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Ariel Ceylan: Yay! My story got a review! Thank you empressofthedead! 3


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